Earlier this year, I made a film in the middle of nowhere called UP COUNTRY, a thriller about a fishing trip gone wrong, set deep in the Northern Maine woods. It’s tricky making a film several hundred miles from a city, in a town that has so few residents it doesn’t even have a name. There’s no rental houses, no hotels, no Starbucks, no airport, and no community of filmmakers to work with. You have to bring everything with you, including the cast and crew. There are no local resources. And while that’s a daunting hurdle to overcome, in the end it frees you, allowing the production to pull people in from all over the country. You quickly realize that there’s great filmmakers all over the place, not just in the usual places, and not just where you live.

Sure, you already know that, but it’s something else entirely to see it in person.

It got me thinking about how over the last year or so there seems to have been an influx of filmmakers who are making a name for themselves outside of NY and LA, thanks to the rise of social media and transmedia all those web 2.0 buzzwords we’re always hearing about. Whereas before, you had to be in NYC or LA to get your projects made, people are starting to find ways to be successful in out of the way places like Minnesota and Idaho and Georgia and the deep woods of Northern Maine. How? What are they doing to make that happen? And just how connected are we by social media and all of our hip technology?

That’s why I’ve decided to embark on quite possibly the craziest project around. We call it A YEAR WITHOUT RENT (http://www.twitter.com/YearWithoutRent). Essentially, I’ll spend a year travelling the country and volunteering on indie films around the country. I’ll basically be an extra set of hands for the project, doing whatever needs to be done. (Have you ever been on a set where they couldn’t use an extra set of hands?) Along the way, I’ll document the entire experience using geo-tagged photos, video, and blog posts. Think of it as a travelogue meets a series of DVD extras. The goal of the project is both to help these filmmakers get their films made and to start to introduce them to a larger audience.

One of the things Ted Hope talks about a lot is the idea of curation, of using what soapbox you’ve got to tell people about things you think they’ll like. Or, to quote Ted:

...with such a plethora of great work being made we need to offer audiences better filters to sift through it. What’s up with our collective failure to deliver more Oprahs, individuals whose support will lead to action?

And that’s really where part of this idea comes from. It’s a karma-centric approach, but I really think that the film community isn’t a zero sum game. If your film does well, then that makes it easier for everyone else. Maybe there’s a finite level of success out there, but we’ve managed to access such a small fraction of it that we should be doing everything we can to build as strong and as wide a community as possible. It’s no secret that the tide is turning and no one’s really figured out how the hell things are going to work going forward, so this is an opportunity. At least, it seems like it should be.

So here’s important part if you’re a filmmaker and you’ve got a project that’s going to be filming this year. We will come to where you are filming, help in whatever way you need, and tell people about you and your work in progress in places like, say, Film Courage. Sounds good, right? There’s gotta be a catch. Nope. No catch. Nada.

We want to canvas the indie film landscape and that requires working with all different types of filmmakers on all different types of films at all different stages of production. That means helping you with your film.

Anyway, that’s the project. Right now we’re crowdfunding on Kickstarter for a couple of reasons. First, because gas is expensive and we want to make sure the filmmakers we help don’t have to worry about covering our expenses or anything. And second, because I really feel like crowdfunding is the best way to build a motivated and emotionally invested audience, and there’s no way a project like this can survive without that. So one thing we tried to do was create a series of interactive perks that will last throughout the course of the year, stuff that will mimic a road trip experience. My favorite perk is the $35 one, where we will adapt your haiku into a Instant Polaroid (well, the Fuji equivalent) you can put on your fridge. We’ll send you mementos from the road. Hell, we’ll even send you a birthday present. Not everyone can take a year of their life and just travel the country, so we’re trying to let the audience and the backers experience that as much as possible from the comfort of their homes.

Plus, if part of our job is telling you about all these projects we’re working on, there’s no point in doing that if no one is paying attention.

Of course, this all becomes a lot harder if we don’t hit our Kickstarter goal and, honestly, it’s going to be something of an uphill climb. We’ve gotten a great amount of support from places like Film Courage, but the backers have been slower rolling around than we anticipated. Hopefully that has something to do with the holidays (but if there’s anything we can do to clarify our project for you, let me know). If we’re going to make it, it’ll take a hell of a rally. Cross your fingers and check out the campaign. Every little bit helps.

Lucas McNelly (@lmcnelly) is the filmmaker behind UP COUNTRY, BLANC DE BLANC, and GRAVIDA. Maybe you’ve heard of him. Maybe you haven’t.

SF Film Society Blog

Thrilled to announce that #MirandaJuly will be bringing #NewSociety, her latest performance project, to #SFIFF audiences April 28 & 29. Hilarious and moving, this experiment in theatrical collaboration chronicles the ways societies emerge, transform, decay and persist over time. Like July's other projects, New Society blurs boundaries between fiction and reality, and audience and performer. So excited to present this event in collaboration with #SFMOMA; tickets on sale NOW to our members & theirs at sffs.org. Photo by #PamelaGentile. #SFFSmembers

These gams graced the #SFIFF stage some four springs ago, and they'll be strolling their way back into this year's Festival lineup. We will make our first program announcement TOMORROW! Find out who owns these lovely blue tights and be at the ready to purchase tickets to this awesome Live & Onstage event. #SFFSmembers: you get first crack at snagging a seat. Not yet a member? Consider joining the Film Society. Trust us, no one belongs here more than you.

#TBT: San Francisco International Film Festival founder Irving Levin just before the second-ever #SFIFF (1958). This spring, we are proud to attach his name to the Festival prize that has honored him for so many years. Our Founder's Directing Award — presented in recent years to legendary filmmakers such as #RichardLinklater, #SpikeLee & #FrancisFordCoppola — will going forward be known as the Irving M. Levin Directing Award in memory of this passionate and driven Bay Area film exhibitor.

Last week, we announced the finalists for our #DocumentaryFilmFund, a competitive cash grant that supports post-production work on nonfiction films. We selected 11 outstanding projects after combing through more than 300 apps — read about these films on @indiewire at bit.ly/DFFfinalists2015. In the meantime, a #TBT to one of last year's grantees, #TomorrowWeDisappear. The doc follows a magician, puppeteer and an acrobat — all members of a small artist colony tucked away in New Delhi — as the neighborhood they inhabit begins to attract real estate developers and eviction looms on the horizon. Read more about past winners and the various ways that #SFFSsupports doc & #indiefilm at sffs.org.

#TBT: #SpikeLee & #DannyGlover at #SFIFF 29, for the world premiere of Lee's film She's Gotta Have It. Over the years, we've screened a variety of Lee's work, from his graduate school thesis film We Cut Heads to to his 2006 doc about the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, When the Levees Broke: A Requiem In Four Acts. We also honored Lee at SFIFF 50 with the Festival's prestigious Founder's Directing Award. Love this filmmaker? His latest, #DaSweetBloodOfJesus, opens at the #RoxieTheater tomorrow!

#SFIFF 58 is just down the road! This year's Festival will run from April 23-May 7, and we will release our full program roster on March 31. In the meantime, stay tuned: a few select special events will be announced in advance. #SFFSmembers get first crack at purchasing tickets to all Festival programs. Not a member? Join now and beat the #SFIFF rush. Photo: #TheAmazingCatfish by Claudia Sainte-Luce (SFIFF 57).

Animator #TommMoore engaged in a live drawing demonstration at a local elementary school. Moore screened his #AcademyAward-nominated film #SongOfTheSea for nearly 300 Bay Area students through the SFFS Education program just a few weeks ago. Learn more about his visit with us and about our time with legendary Disney animator #GlenKeane on the Film Society Blog at blog.sffs.org.

Get YR hair did and head over to the #AsianArtMuseum this Thursday night! Their latest exhibition Seduction: Japan's Floating World kicks off with an awesome opening night party DJed by Proof (AKA @markyenriquez) and peppered with installations & performances by artist & sexuality educator @planetmidori. #SFFSmembers: want to join in the fun for free? Email community@sffs.org by 5p tonight with your name & member number for your chance to win a pair of tickets. Subject should read 'Courtesans & Cooks' & body should include reason why you want to go! Image: Courtesan promenading under cherry blossoms by Katsushika Hokuun, John C. Weber Collection. #TheFloatingWorld

Filmmakers: this is your final weekend to apply to the SFFS / KRF Filmmaking Grant! Get your materials together & submit by Feb. 17. This award funds narrative feature films in all stages of production. In addition to cash prizes, grantees receive one-on-one project consultation, fundraising assistance and access to the full suite of filmmaker services at #SFFS. You need not be local to apply! Pictured: #MosquitaYMari, a film about the evolving friendship between two Chicana high schoolers in Los Angeles, 2011 grant recipient. #SFFSsupports #indiefilm

Very saddened about the passing of journalist #DavidCarr. An amazing writer & forward thinker. Honored to have screened #PageOne: A Year Inside the #NewYorkTimes at #SFIFF 54, #AndrewRossi's in-depth portrait of the paper as it began transitioning into the digital era. Carr became the unexpected star of this film, and came to life on screen as a champion of the Times and an early adopter of new media. His voice will be missed by NYT readers & film lovers everywhere.

In anticipation of this Friday's release of Boyhood with the filmmaker returning to SF for a round of Q&As, watch the onstage interview with Richard Linklater and Parker Posey and Boyhood Q&A from An Evening with Richard Linklater at the 57th San Francisco International Film Festival!

The San Francisco Film Society wrapped its 57th San Francisco International Film Festival (April 24–May 8) with 263 screenings of 168 films from 56 countries, which were attended by over 300 filmmakers and industry guests from over 20 countries. Over 15 days, SFIFF57 showed 74 narrative features, 29 documentary features and a total of 65 short films. See all the highlights and photo galleries!

Last night, the 57th San Francisco International Film Festival announced the winners of the juried Golden Gate Award and New Directors Prize competitionsat an event held at Rouge | Nick’s Crispy Tacos. This year the Festival awarded nearly $40,000 in prizes to emerging and established filmmakers from 13 countries around the globe!